Smile like a Doofus

I smile to much, like way to much.  I walk around grinning like a doofus.  I smile at strangers, dogs, trees and lamp posts.  I smile when I'm happy. I smile when I'm sad.  I smile because maybe if I can make you smile, maybe that will make me feel better about my day to. Our society looks strangely on smiling, if you smile to much, show to much emotion, you are indeed weird. Western society loves the idea of everyone going around like a automaton, showing no emotion, not connecting, you do your own thing and ill do mine. The best example of this is any city in the United States.  You see the droves of everyone working so hard to not connect with anyone else, its crazy, yet smiling requires allot of bravery.  It would also be exhausting walking around the city smiling at every other human being, you would feel like a greeter to the penguin exhibit at the fucking zoo.

 It is also easier to smile because I am a male, if you are a female it is way harder to go around smiling all day because you smile at a blockhead the wrong way they immediately take that as cue to hit on you. I have heard this from so many of my female friends, and it makes so much sense to not smile and avoid harassment. If I was a female who lived in a city, I probably would go around not smiling wearing steel toed boots to kick dudes in the groin when they were being macho assholes.  I dream of a day where everyone can smile at everyone without fear. I dream of a day where everyone smiles from the heart, shares a heart felt connection with another human being for just a brief moment before going about the hustle and bustle of there day. I also dream of a day where if you don't smile that is ok too.  Sometimes your day blows, you don't want to smile, and then there is nothing worse when someone says to you "hey smile" when your thinking about how you would rather throw yourself off a cliff then pump out a fake little grin.  Maybe you don't have to smile at any human being that day.  In that case try smiling at your cat, your bookshelf, your spice rack.

In Buddhist countries such as Thailand, this is not the case.  Ok, yes not everyone smiles in Bangkok but the  majority of people smiling there seem to smile from the heart.  They show a little glimpse of there heart to strangers with no fear of it being stolen or hurt.  There is such bravery to smile that way, Buddhism tends to teach that type of bravery of the heart.  It is also far easier to smile at folks if you live in the country, because people know each other better, there is less fear, less worry. Smiling requires bravery, but when you start feeling that bravery it begins to change you.  I challenge you to smile at yourself for a minute in the mirror, you will feel like an idiot but I promise it will make you feel better about your day.  Or just upon waking in the morning, lie in bed for two minutes just smiling, see how this simple act of heart connection changes the way your day looks.

 Sometimes you also gotta fake it before you make it, so many people go around with that fake smile and yes there may be nothing worse sometimes. However meet that fake smile from someone you cant stand with a genuine empathetic smile, it might blow them away.  Smile at that ass hat in your office, kill him with kindness.  If you smile every day at someone who treats you poorly I am curious how long they can keep up being a jerk.  Try making this your mantra "I smile because I want to have a genuine positive connection with the world and universe" see what happens.  Worse comes to worse you can always go back to not smiling, I'm pretty sure that never killed anybody, but what have you got to lose?